Most people would have torn it down. But David and Hannah Hodson had become attached to their 1950s home in the Hendra suburb of Brisbane after living in it for a year—even though the weather-board house was dark, architecturally uninspired, and awkwardly close to a side property line. When they decided to create a larger home for themselves and their two children, they chose to renovate instead and charged Australian design firm Wrightson Stewart with overhauling and expanding the structure to bring in more light and air and generally give some new life to a tired old house.

David grew up in nearby Ascot, where he still has family, and he and Hannah love Hendra’s mishmash of architectural styles. Their own corner lot, however, came with considerable challenges that any addition would have to navigate.

Two large stormwater pipes diagonally cross the site, limiting opportunities for ground works and footings. In addition, the property is on what is called an “overland flow path”—designed to limit the impact of flooding—meaning that any new structures need to be a minimum height above ground level.

Luckily, in subtropical Brisbane, where much of the traditional Queenslander housing stock is built on tall piers for ventilation, the lifting, shifting, and restumping of houses is a common intervention.

Architect Barbara Bailey, working with Wrightson Stewart, designed the extension as a separate—and architecturally distinct—structure. The original house resembles a traditional cottage—pitched roof, terra-cotta tiles, bay windows. The extension is taller and has a flat roof and cleaner lines. “Hendra is very eclectic in terms of the sorts of houses that are in it,” says Bailey of combining two styles. The structures are linked by an elevated breezeway, and elements such as operable louvered windows in both sections and overall white timber cladding marry old and new.

“We took a fair bit of influence from American Arts and Crafts houses, particularly in L.A., but with everything, I like to have a very Brisbane-centric end product.”
—Ian Wrightson, designer

The existing house was moved forward on the lot so that the family could have a north-facing private backyard and pool. “That has so improved the streetscape,” says Bailey. “It just looks like the house has always been there.” Several decks have been included, with cutouts in their crisp white walls framing neighborhood views.

“The design team came to see us and to observe how we were living,” David says. “We told them we wanted an open plan, and we definitely liked the idea of the two spaces, old and new, as separate zones—one for the kids’ bedrooms and one for our bedroom and the living spaces. In a previous house that we built, we wanted a bridge but never got it, so I think we’ve always had a thing for bridges.”

Their Hendra house was boxed in and thermally inefficient, but now the Hodsons find themselves opening up the louvers and windows throughout, enjoying the cross breezes in the 2,700-square-foot combined structure.

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Strands of the surrounding neighborhood’s architectural DNA can be seen running through the new interiors, from the shiplap joinery of the serpentine desk/storage/seating unit, which references the external weatherboarding, to the terra-cotta tiles in the new kitchen, which link visually to the roofs of neighboring homes and the old part of the couple’s home. “I actually find the kitchen really nostalgic,” says designer Ian Wrightson of Wrightson Stewart, “because terra-cotta roof material is something that reminds me of being a kid and growing up in the suburbs.”

“On Saturday mornings, we open every single one of the louvers and let the house breathe.”
—David Hodson, resident

The site’s restrictions could have been fought against, or the past simply pushed aside when things got difficult, but in working with the challenges and anchoring the home to its neighborhood, this formidable team has been able to poetically and respectfully reinvent their little corner of Brisbane.

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: boARC Architects

Design: Wrightson Stewart

Construction: JCW Builders

Structural Engineering: Neil McKenzie & Associates

Landscape Design: James Birrell Design Lab

Cabinetry: Wrightson Stewart & McAtamney Cabinets

Windows: Duce Timber Windows and Doors

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